German politicians attack Elon Musk article praising far-right AfD

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German politicians have criticized media conglomerate Axel Springer for publishing an opinion piece by Elon Musk praising the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), as anger grows over the tech billionaire’s growing advocacy for right-wing populist parties in Europe.

Matthias Miersch, general secretary of Germany’s ruling Social Democrats (SPD), said it was “shameful and dangerous” that Axel Springer had suggested: Musk platform by publishing his article in one of its newspapers, Welt am Sonntag.

“It is unacceptable that foreign billionaires are trying to influence our political scene and support parties that undermine our democratic values,” he told the Handelsblatt newspaper.

Musk’s pro-AfD article comes two months before Germany’s snap election, which is due to the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition AfD: It is in second place behind the center-right Christian Democrats, while Scholz’s SPD is in third place.

Andreas Oudrecht, a senior Greens MP who is leading the party’s election campaign, criticized the article to X.

“It damages our democracy when Herr Musk, the Chinese state or the troll factories in Moscow subvert our democratic discourse,” he said.

Welt’s commentary editor, Eva Marie Kogel, announced her resignation over the weekend amid outrage over the decision to publish Musk’s op-ed in the paper’s editorial board.

“Journalism lives on independence and credibility, Die Welt lives on its reputation,” says Mika Boister, head of the German journalists’ association.

Musk, a close adviser to the newly elected US President Donald Trump and a friend Axel Springer CEO Matthias Döpfner used the article to praise the AfD, much of which has been identified as extremist by German domestic intelligence and has also advocated mass deportations of foreigners.

Musk described Germany as on the brink of economic and cultural collapse and said the AfD was the “last glimmer of hope” for the country, praising its policies for market deregulation, tax cuts and red tape cuts, as well as its opposition to immigration. .

He also dismissed the idea that the AfD is “extremist,” noting that its co-leader, Alice Weidel, is in a same-sex relationship with a woman from Sri Lanka. “Does that sound like Hitler to you?” he wrote:

Musk has invested heavily in Germany, where Tesla has built its first European gigafactory, but his plans to expand the factory in Brandenburg have faced stiff local resistance this year, including from the state’s AfD politicians.

The article came less than a week after Musk reviewed a video of a German right-wing activist, adding: “Only the AfD can save Germany,” Weidel replied. “Yes. You are absolutely right.”

The AfD is the latest European hard-right organization to win Musk’s support.

Nigel Farage recently suggested Musk donate to Reform UK, telling the BBC his party was in “ongoing talks” with the tech mogul after the pair met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.

He also waded into a row between Farage and Conservative leader Cammy Badenoch, sending out a fact-checking alert on Badenoch’s tweets in which he claimed Reform UK had falsified his membership numbers.

Earlier this year, Musk praised Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, describing her as “someone who is more beautiful on the inside than on the outside” and “genuine, honest and thoughtful.” He responded by praising her “precious genius.”

Insiders at Axel Springer, which also owns Politico, rejected criticism that publishing the article was giving Musk and the far right a platform.

“He owns Twitter and he can reach 200 million people with one tweet. “Who is Welt to give him a platform? It’s better to publish this on our platform where we can defend it and defend it in our own opinion.”